Alex Rider Line of Humanity
by vampassassin
Summary: When Alex is offered the chance of a lifetime by someone who's meant to be dead, he takes it. Things aren't that simple though, he's gone 1 step further then Scorpia with the two most wanted Russians alive. Both side are going to cross a line of humanity
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Yassen Gregorovich had always been a careful man, but he had spent the last two years being especially so. You had to take precautions when you were meant to be dead. Because of his care, never before had Yassen been surprised by anything. Until now. Somehow, despite all the security measures he'd taken, someone had made it into his home. He could hear them now, breathing softly on the other side of the Living Room's door. As quietly as humanely possible, the Russian brought his silenced Grach MP-443 up, ready to kill if need be. Slowly, Yassen pushed the door open, revealing the modern room on the other side. No sooner had he stepped forward then he spun around to grab the hilt of the knife that came flying. Without pausing he blocked the savage kick that followed. For a few minutes, Yassen Gregorovich struggled with his attacker before throwing them to the ground. Raising his gun again, Yassen waited to see what he was up against. As the intruder stepped into a beam of moonlight, he felt the unfamiliar sensation of surprise jolt him. His intuition told him straight away that tonight was going to be a long one.

His attacker, so skilled in stealth and attack, was a girl, no older then 16. Seemingly amused by his reaction, she spoke quietly in a faint but definite Russian accent.

"I'm not sure why you are so surprised, you never were by Alex Rider."

The mention of the MI6 teen spy immediately put Yassen on edge. Tightening his grip on the Grach, he asked slowly and suspiciously,

"How do you know things like that, they're meant to be 'top secret'?"

The girl before him didn't answer immediately; she paused to flick her short, spiky hair out of her face. For the first time, Yassen saw her eyes and almost said something. If not for the suppressed rage hidden in their depths, they could have been his own. Then she spoke and he returned his attention to her words.

"MI6 has made many enemies; didn't you think someone as young as me could hate England's Secret Service?"

Yassen realized what she was trying to tell him, she was no enemy of his. Never lowering his aim, Yassen gestured to a chair across from his.

"Tell me everything, who you are, why you hate MI6, what you're doing here and how you know of Alex Rider."

Smirking coldly, the girl sat and stretched.

"Or what?"

What little emotion had crept into Yassen Gregorovich's voice and eyes abruptly left.

"Or you'll quickly discover I always leave my guns loaded."

The girl nodded as though something had been confirmed and murmured to herself in Russian. Then, she looked up at him and smiled mirthlessly.

"My name is Ivana and I have an interesting story to tell."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1, two years and counting**

**6 months later**

Alex Rider was not enjoying himself. School had always been what he'd craved most, but no longer. Today was especially bad. It was Science and the teacher (The bright spark she was) had decided that today they were going to be preforming dissections on frogs. All around him, the class was chatting happily, oblivious to Alex's dim mood. He had no wish to cut open the animals, in his short life, Alex had seen more gore and pain then most people see in their entire lifetimes. At age 14, he'd been blackmailed into working for MI6 like his Uncle and Father before him. Even though he hadn't been contacted in over two years, anything suspicious or abnormal put him on edge. Shaking his head in disgust, Alex realized that his time with MI6 seemed to have left him messed up. Sighing, he raised his head and waited for the teacher to come back, carrying trays of dead frogs ready to be sliced up like pieces of meat. Sure enough, Mrs. Derris walked into the room; only, she carried neither trays nor papers. The look of confusion on her face set an alarm off in Alex's brain.

"Alex Rider?" she called out, as if she didn't know who he was. This was ridiculous, everyone in the school knew him. Alex was frequently absent and one of the few times he had been present, the Science block had burned to the ground. Never the less, Alex felt inclined to answer the woman and be done with it.

"Yes, I'm here." He said wearily.

Her gaze zeroing in on him, Mrs. Derris said,

"You need to report to the front office now, bring your stuff please."

Uneasily, Alex stood, sweeping his books untidily into his bag. Waving goodbye to his friend Tom, he walked out of the room and down the corridor. Two years and counting he'd been free of MI6, was his luck finally going to end?


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2, Russia with love**

"Oh my God this is going to be fantastic!" Jack Starbright's enthusiasm was usually contagious, but not today. Alex had been called down to the Office not because of MI6 (Like he'd suspected) but because of 'exciting' news from his American guardian, Jack.

"We're going to Russia Alex!" She burst out happily the instant he'd entered her line of sight. It seemed that Jack had won a package including flights and accommodation for Russia but had lost the tickets. Rediscovering them today, she'd realized that they had only five hours to get on the flight.

"Why didn't I hear about this before?" Alex unintentionally let some of his bad mood spill into his conversation with Jack. Noting his temper, Jack took advantage of a red light and twisted in her seat to look at Alex.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked insulted.

Alex felt himself go a little red.

"I thought… well, I thought that maybe MI6…" He trailed off, choosing to look out the car window instead. Jack's expression softened immediately.

"Oh Alex… For two whole _years_ you've been this was…they had no right to do this to you."

She leaned out of her chair precariously to hug Alex tightly (Ignoring the light switching back to green). Smothered by Jack's arms, Alex realized how many cars behind them were honking loudly.

"Jack…not to ruin your moment, but everyone behinds us sounds very pissed off…"

"Oh right, sorry bout that." Jack hoisted herself back into her seat and pressed down on the accelerator.

"I've already packed for both off us, so I guess that means that our next stop is the airport!"


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3, Guess who's coming to visit?**

_Slam! _Ivana failed to block what felt like the hundredth blow today. She had been training all day and whilst she was hot and tired, Yassen was still calm and collected. _SLAM!!! _Another solid hit rewarded Ivana for her lapse in concentration. Gasping for air, she lashed out with the heel of her hand, seeking to hit Yassen's jaw. Instead, he caught her by the wrist and twisted her arm painfully behind her back.

"We're finished for today." Yassen stated coolly as he released her.

Ivana felt frustration flood through her. She'd been working with him for 6 months now, and yet he still didn't seem to realize how important training was to her.

_Perhaps he thinks I am weak, _Ivana thought to herself. Deciding quickly, she let out a cry and struck at Yassen's turned back. She never came close to hitting him. As soon as she had moved, Yassen had swung around, striking her squarely in the face with his fist. Ivana collapsed, hitting the ground hard. She knew straight away from the black tendrils eating at her vision that she was going to lose consciousness. Over her head, she heard Yassen's disembodied voice.

"I said we were finished."

Her strength oddly sapped, Ivana barely reacted as darkness claimed her.

Ivana woke to cold water rushing over her. She sat up quickly, coughing up the freezing liquid. She opened her eyes in time to see Yassen toss aside a bucket and begin to walk away. Resisting the urge to kill something, Ivana stood, wincing at the already rising bruises.

"How long was I out?" She asked hoarsely.

For a long moment, it seemed Yassen wouldn't answer. Then, he turned and faced her.

"Long enough; now come."

Feeling her temper rise a few notches, she asked through gritted teeth,

"So we're finished training for today?"

Yassen inclined his head, a yes on his part. Ivana was confused though.

"What did you have in mind then?"

A ghostly smile flit across Yassen's lips for a spilt second.

"Guess who's coming to visit Russia?"


	5. Author's note!

**Alright, you forced me into desperate measures!!!**

Okay people, lemme tell u something right now. I will NOT be putting any new chapter in until u guys start reviewing!!!!!!!!!!! U want the next chapters of my story??? GET REVIEWING ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!! Ty from your slightly psychotic vampire in the making author. By the way, this is not a chapter; it's merely an author's note.


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter 5, playing the hero**

"I -isn't t-this a-amazing?" Jack asked, her teeth chattering with a mind of their own. Alex merely gave a grunt in reply; it was too cold to devote energy to replies. It had taken all of 30 seconds outside in the misty winter air to realize why this travel package had been so cheap. Despite the freezing atmosphere, Jack was still managing to be optimistic. Sighing, Alex turned his attention to the cathedral Jack was referring to. Quite frankly, he wasn't impressed. The building stuck out like a sore thumb in the bustling city. Yawning, Alex rubbed at his eyes. As he lowered his hands, he noticed a dishevelled man standing by the edge of the cathedral. Alex noticed that he watched all that passed him intently. As an older and feeble looking woman passed by, he suddenly lunged forward and snatched her bag and ran. Ignoring Jack's startled calls, Alex took off after him.

Watching the boy's progress through a pair of binoculars, Ivana smiled. Stretching lazily, she clambered down from the third storey balcony she was perched on. Yassen waited for her at the bottom, raising a single brow when she put the binoculars away.

"You were right; Rider can't resist playing the hero. He'll be here shortly."

Yassen smiled faintly, satisfied.

"We had better get ready then."

Sprinting after the thief, Alex cursed, suddenly remembering another time he'd done something like this. Venice had turned out to be a fiasco, if today was going to be the same, it might be better if he just went back to Jack. Even as he thought this, Alex pictured the smirking face of the thief and redoubled his efforts. He was forced to shove his way through the throngs, ignoring the angry outbursts that followed him. Twice, someone tried to grab him by the arm. Alex put one last spurt of speed and suddenly burst out the crowds. Looking around, he glimpsed his target slipping down a small back alley. Smiling grimly, Alex followed quickly. Fog swirled oddly around the alley, limiting his sight. Normal objects like dustbins and bags only loomed like giants out of the fog. Finally, Alex reached the end, a chain link fence blocking off the lane. Standing oblivious to him, the thief rummaged through the pilfered bag. Clearing his throat, Alex stepped forward, the fog clinging to him like greedy fingers. The thief looked up sharply and gaped. Terror spread across his face. Dropping the purse, he fled, climbing over the fence and sprinting away. Frowning, Alex walked over and picked up the bag.

"What was that?" he asked himself. Looking up, Alex felt his heart catch in his throat. Behind where he had been standing moments before, a dark, indistinct figure stood, watching. Staring, Alex backed up, feeling the cold, wet chain link fence press into his back. A disembodied laugh floated from the figure, mocking his fear. Suddenly, the fog shifted, revealing the terror to be a girl smiling chillingly. She walked up to Alex until they stood mere inches away.

"Hello Alex Rider, so good to finally meet you."


	7. Another brief AN

**Another brief Author's Note**

Well done people, I finally got some reviews!!!! I will now add new chapters. Just so u know, I have a lot of the story already written out, so keep on reviewing if u want the story to continue!!!! Ty sooo much to those who have already reviewed, u guys r the ones who make this worth it!!!

Ttfn from vampassassin


	8. Chapter 5

**Chapter 6, blades**

Trying not to be intimidated, Alex asked,

"Not to be rude, but who the hell are you?"

The chilling smile on the girl's face disappeared abruptly, revealing a cold, calculating expression.

"I'm here to collect you for a quick chat."

Shaking his head, Alex spoke carefully.

"Look, I don't mean to make any assumptions, but there's a free mental health clinic just down the road…"

_Shhhnick! _A sharp noise made him jump. Looking at the girl, he gaped in shock. Eight 3 inch blades had sprung out of the girls knuckles as if by magic (her thumbs had no blades). **Author interruption: yes I know, I copied the idea from X-men!!!! It suits the character though**

Cautiously, Alex licked his lips and said,

"That little chat you mentioned sounds good."

The girl smiled coldly at him but didn't move. Alex voiced his confusion.

"Well are we going? Because if we're not…"

The girl whipped around to face Alex.

"Shut up, we're waiting." She snapped.

"Who for?" Alex asked curiously.

"For me Alex." A voice said behind him.

_No…it can't be… _Alex thought.

He slowly turned around and stared as he saw a ghost.


	9. Chapter 6

**Chapter 7, ghosts of the past**

Confusion and disbelief crashed through Alex. Standing before him was a man who was supposed to have died two years ago. Yet here he was, right in front of him.

"You're dead." He said stupidly.

The girl next to him rolled her eyes. Yassen Gregorovich shook his head.

"I don't think so. If I was, would I stand here now?"

Struggling to control his emotions, Alex asked,

"What…why are you here?"

Before answering, Yassen turned to the girl and spoke rapidly in Russian. Alex caught the word 'Ivana' and guessed correctly that it was the girl's name. Ivana nodded to Yassen and ran back the way she had come, disappearing into the fog and quickly dimming evening. Yassen then turned to Alex.

"Come, I will explain everything when we are at the safe house."

Suddenly, anger burst through the turmoil inside Alex.

"You can't be serious…you're supposedly dead for two years and then pop up and expect me to cooperate?!" He yelled.

Yassen's eyes narrowed when he listened to this outburst.

"Yes, I expect you to come or I will force you." His voice was icy.

Cold, sharp metal suddenly pressed against Alex's neck. He swallowed dryly; Ivana had snuck up behind him.

"I though you said you never could hurt John Rider's son?" He said quietly, gauging Yassen's face.

For a moment, Alex thought he'd picked the wrong words, but then, Ivana released him. Yassen nodded slowly.

"You're right of course. That was a wrong selection of words on my behalf. I won't hurt you, but it would definitely be to your advantage to hear me out." The Russian said.

Thinking quickly, Alex realized that this was something important. Why else would the ghosts (almost literally) of his past suddenly reappear? Missing out on this might affect his life forever.

"Fine, I'll come." He said.


	10. yet another AN

**Yup, another A/N!!!**

Okay my awesome readers!!!! U guys rock!! U reviewed so u get new chappies!!!! Just so u all know, these Author Notes r going to b a regular occurrence, I'm sure u can live with that tho! If u guys have any suggestions for my story, tell me!!! I love hearing from u guys! And so u know, there IS going to b romance in this fanfic, it'll b a little slow to start with tho.

Anyhow, ttfn from ur appreciative Author!!!!


	11. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7, chance of a lifetime**

Satisfied, Yassen gestured to a steel ladder bolted to the wall of a nearby apartment.

"It's too dangerous to go out onto the open street; we'll climb this to the penthouse. Ivana will go first."

Mentally cursing ladders and the day in general, Alex waited until Ivana was a distance ahead, and then began to haul himself up. Already, Ivana had reached the 2nd storey and showed no sign of slowing down. Below him, Yassen climbed effortlessly. Finally, after what seemed like hours of climbing, Alex dragged his aching body over the lip of the penthouse balcony. He slowly stood, just in time to see Yassen catapult over the edge, landing neatly on the balls of his feet. Alex grunted in reluctant admiration of the man's athletic ability. Ivana waited by a glass door impatiently, blades still extended (Alex understood now how the girl climbed so quickly). Yassen noted Alex's uneasy observation of Ivana.

"I wouldn't worry about Ivana; she doesn't lay a finger on anyone unless I say so."

Despite Yassen's words, Ivana smiled coldly, her pretty face twisting into an adult's cynical expression.

"However, if Yassen does give the word…" She trailed off, slashing at the air. Her blades seemed to rend the very air itself.

Frowning, Yassen produced a key card and swiped it in the pad over the door.

"Ivana, I would expect you to treat a guest more respectfully, especially a guest like Alex."

Alex still felt confused.

"And exactly _why_ am I a guest?"

Ivana smiled sweetly (For some reason, this scared Alex more then the threatening) and sat on a nearby stool. She went on work on the computer next to it.

"Hmmmm…" She mused.

Yassen gestured to a chair for Alex before looking up.

"Yes?" He sounded slightly annoyed.

Ivana quickly scanned through the screen.

"It seems $1,000 doesn't by loyalty from the average stranger, our thief's tipped off MI6, seems he was an informant. They'll be here in about 7 minutes."

Frowning a little, Yassen turned back to Alex.

"Right, I think we'll make this brief then."

Feeling annoyed, Alex half shouted,

"What?! Do what briefly???"

Ivana piped up, "Six and a half minutes…"

Yassen paused, and jumped right in.

"We want to offer you a chance to take your life back from MI6."

Still not getting it, Alex gave the Russian a questioning glance.

"Drop MI6, work with us stupid!" Ivana spat out. "5 minutes!"

Incredulous shock spread through Alex.

"W-what?!" he burst out. "Why would I work with a psychotic girl who threatens to injure me grievously every second and the man who killed my uncle and countless others?" He ignored Ivana as she shot him a look of pure venom. Sighing lightly, Yassen answered his question.

"MI6 has used you, threatened and blackmailed you. Working with us will protect you from that, surely that's worth a little moral discomfort. Also, this way you can get revenge if you wish."

Alex looked suspiciously at the Russian.

"What happens if I say no?" he asked. Yassen looked amused for a moment.

"Nothing, you can wait for your MI6 friends. I'm sure they'll be pleased to discover you after two years."

Raising an eyebrow, Alex spoke.

"I guess they're all good points, but you're not answering one of my questions Yassen."

It was the first time Alex had addressed Yassen by first name and that seemed to affect the Russian.

Giving an annoyed sigh, Yassen answered him.

"Yes, your uncle. I killed him and that's that. I can't change the past however much you may wish it. Working with us, well, that's something you'll have to adjust to. Killing is part of the lives of many."

Alex spoke again; a question had popped into his head.

"Two years ago, you said killing was for adults not children. What makes you think 16 is any less of a child then 14?"

Yassen gazed levelly at Alex.

"Nothing, except for the fact that you've achieved a little more since I said that to you. That is, if you call saving the world 'little'."

Ivana spoke tersely, "Decide quickly Rider, we have two and a half minutes."

Everything came down to this, Alex realized. It was true that happy moments were few and far between while MI6 had the power to control him, but Alex knew school wasn't what he wanted anymore. Besides, wasn't he constantly told it was in his blood to do something like this? Finally, he looked up slowly and addressed the other two who were already getting ready to move out.

"Count me in." Alex said quietly.

Pleased, Yassen spoke.

"We need to go now then; MI6 may already know where we are."

It was then the bullets began to pour in through the windows and door.


	12. Chapter 8

**Chapter 9, out with a bang**

"Hit the dirt!!!" Ivana shouted (Quite unnecessarily in Alex's opinion). Laying on the cold wood floor, Alex winced at the deafening noise as bullets and glass flew everywhere. Glancing up, he saw that Yassen had disappeared and Ivana was crawling towards him. For a spilt second, Alex thought the girl had been shot, but then he saw the jagged glass sticking out of her shoulder. Blood trickled messily down the front and side of her shirt as she made her way over. With gritted teeth, Ivana dove next to where Alex hid behind the upturned couch. "Come on!" She yelled dragging Alex to a door that he hadn't noticed before. As they ran to the door, Alex realized that although the shooting had stopped, he could hear chaos below them in the building. Yassen beckoned them on from the other side of the door.

"MI6 _is_ here, they're coming up the stairs." Yassen said calmly. Aware that both of the Russians were watching him, Alex said the first thing that came to mind.

"Crap."

Ivana muttered something in Russian and Yassen shot her a look that was obviously meant as a warning. Quickly, Yassen moved over to a window on the opposite side to the shooting. With a sharp pull, it opened to reveal their escape route. A single taut cable was strung between their building and the half constructed one across from them. Shooting a look at Yassen, Alex shook his head.

"You've GOT to be kidding!!!"

Yassen gave him an appraising look that cowed Alex a little. Something about the Russian's cold eyes did that to most people.

"I don't see the problem, you've done it before." He said. Alex knew Yassen was referring to the time Alex had walked a wire 100 metres above the ground to escape a burning building. Still not convinced, Alex scowled.

"I will go first then." Yassen snapped.

Alex watched in amazement as the Russian ran down the line like he did it regularly (Which, Alex thought, it may well be). Just the, there was a muffled thud, and a small explosion seemed to go off. A grating noise interrupted his confusion as the hook holding the wire above the window came loose.

"No!!!" Ivana cried out, shouting at Yassen in Russian. Before her words could reach him though, the hook latched on to a ledge sticking out of the other building. Yassen gave it a couple of stomps to wedge it in properly. Ivana and Alex glanced at each other worriedly as the shooting started up again. Also, the thumping and shouts of the approaching MI6 agents were closer now, right outside the apartment.

"What now?!" Alex asked.

With a grim face, Ivana simply leaned out the window and grabbed some large metal hooks left over from construction. Alex thanked the heavens that the original construction scaffolding had been left attached to this side of the building. Ivana tossed one of the hooks to Alex.

"We can use these to zip-line down the wire." She explained, already pushing the incredulous Alex to the window. Just then, the most incongruous sound rung out. Ivana's phone chimed away with its digital sounding ring tone, oblivious to the girl's furious glare. Eventually, she plucked the offending machine from her belt.

"WHAT?!" she snarled.

A rapid fire rush of speech buzzed out of the phone's speaker. Listening intently, Ivana's face paled a little, mouth set in a grim line. After a moment, she hung up and looked over to Alex.

"That was Yassen…he said that we should probably leave now, he set bombs around the place to ambush the agents." Ivana's emotionless voice betrayed the terror of the moment. Hurrying, Alex slung his hook over the wire and stepped up onto the window sill. He tried desperately not to think of the drop if he didn't hold on very tightly. Looking over his shoulder for Ivana, he realized she wasn't following him. The girl was half away across the room, staring at a discreet pile of disks through the open door.

"Go, I've got to get those!" Ivana yelled, "If MI6 gets those, we're screwed!"

With a burst of horror, an amazingly clear though occurred to Alex, _'Why the hell did she leave them out there in the first place?"_

Just as Ivana reached the coffee table the disks were perched on and grabbed them, the door burst open. Six MI6 agents came pouring in, all cradling lethal looking weaponry. For some odd reason, they didn't notice the teens immediately. Alex drew a breath in and…

"RUN STUPID!!!" he yelled.

All hell broke loose at that moment. The agents glanced up to where Ivana scrabbled forwards to Alex desperately. Bullets whirred all around her and tore up the door Ivana slammed behind her. Taking a leap, she collided into Alex (who mercifully was still holding onto his hook). The momentum of Ivana grabbing onto Alex carried both of them out the window just as a massive explosion devoured the apartment behind them. The hot air pushed them on faster, out of reach of the flying shrapnel. Amidst his shock and the whizzing sound emitting from the friction between the hook and line, Alex realized that Ivana's arms were too tight around his neck, he couldn't breath! Gasping hoarsely, he tried to speak. Before he could complain though, the hook hit the end of the line hard and catapulted the pair through the window and into the room. Crashing to the floor hard, Alex heard a smaller explosion go off and their life line snap. He staggered to his feet painfully and then he was following the others. The threesome raced through the half constructed building, objects like buckets and piping looming unexpectedly out of the night peeking in through the unfinished roof. Suddenly, they were out on the street, running to a silver sports car parked nearby. Ignoring his sore throat, Alex spoke up.

"A Mercedes?"

A small smile curled Yassen's mouth.

"Why not? Besides, it's not your average luxury car."

Shaking his head tiredly, Alex climbed into the front passenger seat.

"Of course it's not." He muttered.


	13. Chapter 9

**Chapter 10, no such thing as normal**

Alan Blunt was not happy. Earlier on, their favourite Russian informant had tipped them off to three enemies of MI6 and a possible attack. He'd even given a location, a coup all on its own. Except, it wasn't that easy. What should have been a simple raid had turned into an ugly affair. A massive explosion and six agents killed. Most annoying, his two least favourite Russians had turned up. Scowling, he complained.

"Yassen Gregorovich was supposed to have died to years ago on Air Force One."

Mrs. Jones, deputy head of MI6 met his gaze coolly.

"You know as well as I do that his body was never recovered. It only stands to reason he survived."

Blunt grunted and poked at the files on his desk.

"Still, I'd rather Gregorovich then the girl…Ivana?"

Mrs. Jones shifted uneasily. She'd always been what Alan called 'sentimental', but even she disliked the Russian girl.

"I _had_ hoped we'd seen the last of her." She said awkwardly. For a moment, the office was silent; they both knew why Ivana was so set on revenge. Standing, Mrs. Jones spoke,

"Well, I should go see Smithers; he said he had some interesting thing or other to show me…"

Alan Blunt shook his head and gestured to the recently vacated seat.

"You're trying to avoid an issue here Mrs. Jones."

With a sigh, the suddenly weary woman paused, and then sat back down.

"We _both_ know Alex Rider was there." Blunt said.

Trying to speak carefully, Mrs. Jones asked,

"Are we going to look into hostage negotiations?"

Shaking his head slowly, Blunt answered,

"You know as well as I do that Yassen always harboured an interest in Alex. The boy's there out of own free will."

Mrs. Jones looked sad.

"After two years, I'd hoped that he'd return to a normal life."

Snorting, Blunt glanced down at his reports on the boy.

"As John Rider's son, that's hardly likely."

The grey man looked up and met Mrs. Jones' eyes.

"As far as Alex Rider is concerned, there is no such thing as normal."


	14. yup another one!

**A note from your favourite vampire Author**

Hmmmmmmmmmm…….u guys r getting lazy again. Remember u need to review if u want new chappies. I also want to hear some suggestions or predictions. I can't guarantee that I'll do what u suggest or that ur predictions will b right but u never know…… if I use any of my readers suggestions, they get a special mention at the start of that particular chappie. So u know what u got to do: start writing to me!

Ttfn from vampassassin, I love all my readers: u guys rock!


	15. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10, touching bases**

Sitting in the car, Alex quietly reflected on what a twist his life had taken. Suddenly, he remembered something important.

"Shit, I need to call Jack!" He burst out, speaking the first words for 3 hours. Yassen's eyes flicked briefly to Alex before returning to the road.

"Who's Jack?" Ivana asked, jerking out of her silent reverie.

"Jack is Alex's American guardian; he left her back in the city." Yassen said quietly. Alex nodded and bit his lip.

"I should call her; she probably thinks I'm dead or something."

Yassen's face was empty as ever, but a note of caution entered his voice.

"You'll have to tell her that you may not see her for a long time."

Grimacing, Alex nodded. This wasn't a call he was looking forward to. Sighing, he dialled Jack's number into his phone. He was answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" A worried voice asked.

"Hi Jack, it's Alex."

A small explosion went off on the other end.

"ALEX, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHY HAVEN'T YOU CALLED ME???"

Painfully aware that the other two were curious to know why he held the hone like a poisonous reptile, he replied.

"Jeez Jack, calm down." He attempted.

"CALM DOWN??? AFTER DISSAPPEARING INTO THE NIGHT, YOU EXPECT ME TO 'CALM DOWN'?"

Wincing at the screaming, Alex spoke quietly.

"Jack, I need you to listen, this is really important."

Silence fell instantaneously on the line. Alex guesses jack had noted his serious tone.

"Jack, continue the holiday, I won't be coming back."

Jack's miserable voice set Alex's guilt running a marathon.

"Mi6 have got you again, haven't they?"

Drawing his hand over his face, Alex tried to answer safely.

"Ah….not exactly…"

Even though she was silent, Alex could sense Jack's confusion.

"Actually, with the way things are going, Mi6 are going to want my head on a platter…"

Ivana hissed at Alex to finish up, he answered with a rude hand gesture that earned him a look from Yassen.

Wincing, Alex did his best, spitting it out fast,

"You could say I've betrayed Mi6, I'm working for Yassen and with Ivana. I got to run now…Bye, love you!"

"ALEX RIDER, YOU GIVE ME AN EX…"

Pressing end, Alex breathed out.

"How'd she take it?" Yassen asked.

Alex just gave him a sarcastic glance and wondered how much trouble he was in.


	16. Author's Update!

**Author's chat!**

Ok guys, u all officially rock! I loved getting more reviews, especially when you're honest and give me some suggestions! I know a few of you have already predicted a coupling between Alex and Ivana. Lemme just say this: It's entirely possible, my friend read a scene concerning the both of them today at school (I have over 100 pages handwritten, typing it up takes longer believe it or not) and decided that I'd done an ok job there. Also, I have to say, getting attached to Mrs. Jones will b a problem. There's going to be a little encounter between Alex and a few other characters, but I won't give anything more away, it's still further into the story anyhow. Also, I want to give you all a heads up. Towards the end of the book, there will be a HUGE twist! It's been done before, but not like this!!

Anywho, just a little update from Vampassassin,

Ttfn

Xoxoxo to all my reviewers!


	17. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11, we'll be in touch**

Jack stared at her phone in shock. Struggling (and failing) to control her temper, she stormed to the nearest restaurant and sat down. Ordering a meal, she set the waiter scurrying off when she glared at him as though contemplating thrusting her fork up his nose. Grinding her teeth, she sat and thought for awhile. Then, an idea sprung to life. Jack picked her phone up and took out a list of numbers she kept in case of emergencies in her bag. It took an hour, but finally her plan succeeded.

"Hello, this is John Craweley. Is this Jack Starbright?"

Jack felt oddly elated. Somehow she'd done it, she'd reached MI6.

"Ms. Starbright, are you there?"

Shaking herself, Jack answered quickly.

"Y-yes, I'm here."

For a moment, there was no sound, then…

"Ms. Starbright, I am going to put you through to Mrs. Jones."

A surge of triumph jolted Jack; she was going to give these people a what for! A weary voice spoke suddenly.

"Ms. Starbright, this is Mrs. Jones. I think I know what you want."

Composing herself, Jack answered.

"Look I don't care what you think I want, I sure as hell _do_ want to know what you've done to Alex this time!" She growled. A tired sigh on the other end sounded like a rush of static. For some strange reason, Jack felt a quick bust of sympathy for the English woman.

"Jack…if I may call you that?"

She gave a grunt in way of a yes.

"Jack, I really don't know too much more then you do, but what news I can provide is bad."

Trying to keep from screaming in frustration, the American grit her teeth and asked.

"Why have you got Alex, he mentioned heads on platters and running. Did a mission go wrong?"

The hesitant pause from Mrs. Jones made Jack prepare herself for the worst.

"As a matter of fact, Alex _isn't_ with us. We believe him to be with two Russian, one of them is Yassen Gregorovich."

The name was familiar to Jack, but oddly so.

"Wait, isn't he the one who…"

"Killed Ian Rider? Yes, he is."

Confusion swept through Jack, she was sure she was missing something here.

"What's Alex doing with him, has he been kidnapped?!"

Again the pause. Mrs. Jones did her best to avoid answering bluntly.

"Ms. Starbright, I don't think that I'm the right person to tell…"

Jack snarled at the MI6 deputy before she could continue.

"ANSWER ME STRAIGHT DAMMIT!"

When Mrs. Jones spoke again, her voice was much less friendly. It was colder and contained a note of steel.

"Alex has turned on us. He's working with the other two now, he's become a traitor."

A sense of horror trickled through Jack.

"No!" she whispered, scarcely believing her own ears. "No, he couldn't!?"

"I'm afraid it's the truth Jack, we also have reason to believe that Alex was involved in the deaths of six agents."

A sickening mix of anger and fear churned nauseatingly in Jack's stomach. She wanted so hard to hang up, but the cold words kept coming and she couldn't ignore them.

"We will of course do our best to bring him in, but be warned, there are always the risk of…injuries."

Jack swallowed dryly, she felt sick.

"Depending on the circumstances of course, Alex may well be charged criminally. At 16, laws work a little differently for him."

Suddenly, Jack had had enough, she snapped back into focus. Her emotions flooded back, Anger leading the way.

"You _can't_ do this, he's not a killer, and you have no right!!!" She stopped yelling for a moment, everyone in the restaurant was staring at her. Mrs. Jones answered emotionlessly.

"Actually Ms. Starbright, I think you'll find we _do_ have the right."

Jack couldn't think of anything to say, so she bowed her head limply.

"Good Evening Ms. Starbright, we'll be in touch."

The line went silent as Mrs. Jones hung up.

For a moment, Jack simply stared around her. Then, she burst into tears, because in her heart, Jack knew everything MI6 had told her was true. Alex Rider had turned, and this time there was no going back.


	18. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12, need for speed**

Speeding through the night, Alex yawned. Even though the car was luxurious and did hold quite a few surprises (Mounted machine gun and amazing speed capabilities being only two), he was stiff and bored. After finishing his call, all three of them had returned to a taciturn state of silence. Stretching uneasily, Alex accidentally knocked his phone from where he'd left it on the centre console. The device fell into the back by Ivana's knee.

"Can you grab that for me?" Alex asked yawning. As she leaned over, Alex's fatigue dissipated immediately. All of Ivana's left side was soaked in blood; her shirt had gone an odd red-black.

"What the hell happened?!" He burst out, horrified. What was worse, Alex could see that fresh blood was still trickling out of a wound somewhere.

"What is it?" Yassen asked, never taking his eyes off of the road. Ivana wordlessly passed the phone back to Alex, glaring at him. It was obvious she wanted him to say nothing. However, her strained expression only furthered his resolve.

"Ivana's injured." Alex said quietly.

"Idiot!" she hissed lividly.

Silently, Yassen turned the car around a corner and parked outside a 24 hour pharmacy. He got out of the car and opened Ivana's door. Getting out as well, Alex offered a hand to her.

"I can get out on my own!" She snapped. Slowly, she stood and moved forward. On the first step, what little colour there was drained from her face and Ivana passed out. Yassen caught her before she hit the tarmac parking lot. Alex was startled to see a cold look on the Russian's face. He wasn't happy. Yassen carefully propped Ivana into a sitting position against the car, then he slapped her once across the face. With a jerk, she came to, still very pale. She didn't seem bothered by the way Yassen stood over her, eyes glinting angrily. To the average passer-by the Russian would appear to be mildly stressed, but Alex knew better.

"Why didn't you say you were injured?" He asked softly, voice quietly menacing. Ivana looked away and didn't answer. Unwilling to waste time arguing, Yassen disappeared into the store. After a few minutes of awkward hostility between Alex and Ivana, he returned, carrying supplies. Wincing, Ivana gingerly took off the dark jersey she wore. Underneath, her black tank top left enough skin exposed to show what had happened. From her shoulder down, Ivana's left side was studded with various pieces of shrapnel. Alex flinched, thinking of the pain of having metal and glass embedded in you flesh. The worst injury however, was a deep, still bleeding gash that ran from her left shoulder, across Ivana's collarbone and ending on her right shoulder blade. Alex tensed as Yassen took all of Ivana's injuries.

"I'll ask once more, why didn't you say something?" His voice was calmer then before, but Alex still felt edgy. Ivana hesitated before answering.

"I wanted to keep moving, so I said nothing." She muttered, eyes cast down. For a second, Alex thought he saw Yassen smile. Certainly, the Russian's cold aura vanished for a spilt second. Wondering at that, Alex refocused on Yassen's words.

"I don't think so Ivana, you're lying to me."

She started to protest, but Yassen silenced her with a look.

"However, I'll let you go with this. I see no point in pushing the matter."

Turning back to the task at hand, Yassen poked carefully at the gash.

"This'll need stitches." He noted grimly, shaking his hand to rid it of blood. Suddenly, Yassen stiffened, staring out into the dark road. All three watched as a black Audi moved slowly down the street, purpose obvious.

"Get in the car now." Yassen said quietly. For once, Ivana accepted Alex's offer of help without snarling. As soon as they were all in the car, Yassen slammed on the accelerator. The Mercedes leapt forward, almost alive in its power. Immediately, the Audi followed, headlights focused on them like lasers. Quickly, the highway turned into a path through rolling hills and farming country. The road begun to wind, hairpin turns one after another.

"Bikes left and right." Yassen said quietly.

Looking behind them, Alex groaned. They were now being pursued by four motorbikes and two cars.

"Open the centre console Alex." Yassen said, voice level and unconcerned. Obeying instantly, Alex found a handgun laying in the compartment. Picking it up, he glanced at Ivana.

"You _do_ know how to use it right?" she asked.

Alex nodded insulted. Then, he positioned himself by the window, ready to pull the trigger. Behind him, Ivana had produced a mini oozie from somewhere. With a high pitched roar, one of the bikes came alongside the car. Before she could fire, Yassen took another turn, throwing Ivana onto her injured side. Alex winced, but took the opportunity. He fired over Ivana's head and clipped the motorcyclist on the arm. Immediately, he toppled from the bike, nearly being run over in the process. Pulling herself upright, Ivana shot at the next to try stopping them. The dead Audi driver slumped over the wheel, foot falling to the brake. Despite their efforts to stop in time, two more of the bikes slammed into the car, exploding into balls of flame. Smiling grimly, Ivana reloaded her weapon. Her smile faded a little as one car and bike sped out of the smoke, gaining on them. Suddenly, one of the men in the car leant out of the window and started firing. Bullets whined overhead, one hit a side mirror and carried it off into the night.

Frowning, Yassen spoke.

"They are becoming a problem now."

Thinking quickly, Ivana turned to Alex.

"Can you fire in front of you?" She asked.

Alex nodded, he knew what Ivana had in mind and so did Yassen. With a touch of the brakes, their pursuers went screaming ahead. Simultaneously, Alex and Ivana leant out the windows and fired at the vehicles. Alex's target, the motorcyclist, flew off his bike and slammed into the hard road. Ivana on the other hand, emptied the entire clip, hitting everyone in the car. The car itself lunged off the road and slammed into a stone wall. A fiery explosion devoured the vehicle, but the Mercedes was already a mile down the road.


	19. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13, location location location**

Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Alex relaxed. Ivana did the same in the back. Yassen spoke quietly.

"We're near our destination, were either of you injured this time?" his gaze rested on Ivana through the rear view mirror. She answered painfully.

"I landed on my side; I think I made it worse."

Alex grimaced and asked the question he'd meant to awhile ago.

"Where exactly are we going?"

Yassen answered cryptically.

"To the place I live when I'm in Russia."

Ivana snorted, and then winced.

"It's more then a place I think."

More curious then ever, Alex settled down.

"We'll be there in about half an hour."


	20. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14, betrayal confirmed**

Mrs. Jones felt very tire. The day had been normal until Alex, Yassen and Ivana had blown up half an apartment complex. Wearily, she looked around, taking stock of her surroundings. Blinking, she sat still and listened to the men before her. Wolf and Smithers. Together, they vaguely reminded her of a comedy double act. Wolf, fit and militarily mannered. Smithers, enormously fat and cheerful. Not today though. Today, no one was smiling. Wolf did his best to soften the tense atmosphere.

"I see no reason to worry; my men understood their instructions perfectly. Bring all three of them in."

Smithers joined in.

"Exactly! With the equipment I gave them, it should be easy. I even worked on their cars myself."

Unwilling to believe it, Mrs. Jones let herself fall into a pessimistic mood. As if to prove her right, a nervous man entered the room.

"Yes George, what is it?" She asked, dreading what news the messenger carried.

"Mr. Blunt told me to give you this." He laid a CD on her desk and left hastily.

"Shall I?" Wolf asked, picking the disc up. Mrs. Jones nodded and turned to watch the screen behind her. She was watching a chase shot from a dashboard camera. Even without seeing the occupants, Mrs. Jones knew that Alex and the other two were in the silver Mercedes. With a growing sense of horror, she watched as any doubt of Alex's betrayal was swept away. He and Ivana destroyed her retrieval team in less then five minutes. Finally, the tape blacked out as the car it was being shot from crashed into a wall. Mrs. Jones let out a mental groan. Alex had just made himself that much more of an enemy to MI6. She saw her own misery mirrored on the faces of the two men. Whilst Smithers looked distraught, Wolf looked angry.

"Gentlemen, I believe we all agree that something has to be done about this."

Smithers didn't answer, thinking of the countless gadgets he'd made for the boy. Wolf spoke though.

"I can hardly believe this of Cub, even during the Venice incident he could never turn completely."

Mrs. Jones shook her head slowly, remembering Alex in her apartment with a gun.

"To be honest, Blunt and I think that ever _since_ Scorpia Alex's been going crooked, a little bit at a time."

Smithers surprised them all by speaking unexpectedly.

"I understand Alex being in all this, but how did Ivana get involved?"

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, Mrs. Jones answered.

"Alan and I think that after Deadpoint, she realized what we'd done. A few months later some of the hardcopy files in the vaults were stolen."

Wolf looked annoyed.

"I don't know why we risk hardcopy files, we barely use them anyway."

Mrs. Jones nodded and continued her speech.

"We all know Ivana and what she must have felt once Deadpoint was over. She's joined up with Yassen because she knows she can get revenge that way."

Smithers cocked an eyebrow,

"She joined up with him _only_ because of that? Ivana doesn't know any more about Yassen then that?"

Mrs. Jones nodded.

"Yes, she has no clue. I think we're the only ones who really know about those two."

Wolf's mood darkened at the mention of the Russian girl.

"I don't know why we ever brought her into MI6 in the first place."

Mrs. Jones glanced at him sharply.

"The same reason we brought Alex Rider in, they're both trained and useful."

Grunting sourly, the man asked the obvious question.

"What do we do now?"

Smiling wanly, Mrs. Jones answered hollowly.

"What we can, wait for an opportunity."

Smithers frowned.

"Knowing Alex, that 'opportunity' will be hard come by."


	21. Chapter 15

**A/N o-0 looonggg chappie this one! Also, I apologize for my extended absence, my pc had a fit!**

**Disclaimer: **wow, I haven't been doing these…Under no circumstances do I own Alex Rider and any of the other aspects invented by Anthony Horowitz!!! I do how ever take full responsibility for Ivana and other OC!

**Chapter 15, Explanations and Warnings**

Alex looked around interestedly. Yassen's enormous manor was definitely impressive.

"Told you… the man's incapable of getting anything but the best…" Ivana panted. She was leaning on Alex, arm wrapped around his shoulders. Yassen had gone ahead to get the surgeon that he employed. Ivana had lost a lot of blood and was terribly prone to infections left untreated. Still, Alex thought, asking me to hold her up is a bit much. He could fell her cold, hard knuckles against the nape of his neck. Alex tried not to shudder at the thought of the blades he'd seen protruding from her knuckles. Silently, he mentally scolded himself for such thoughts. Alex would only spook himself. Still, it was hard not to think about it. It didn't help that Ivana was pretty as well, even if she was cynical. At that moment, Ivana noticed his staring.

"Why are you staring at me?" Her tone wasn't aggressive; rather, it was quietly curious. Alex figured she was too weak for sarcasm. Swallowing awkwardly (his throat was still bruised from earlier on), he wondered how to answer. Looking amused, Ivana asked,

"Cat got your tongue?"

Before he could reply with a snappy retort, Yassen returned with a man following.

"This is Dr. Dupont."

Dr. Dupont gave no indication that he knew he'd been introduced. He was a stout man, leathery skinned with square glasses. What little hair he had was a dirty shade of silver. Dr. Dupont was watching Alex suspiciously. Turning to Yassen, he abruptly unleashed a torrent of angry Spanish. It was obvious by the way he gestured that he was unhappy about a stranger being present. He stopped abruptly when Yassen answered in impeccable Spanish himself. Alex tried to keep up, but both men were speaking too fast. However, he did catch the words 'John' and 'MI6'. Feeling uneasy, Alex unconsciously stretched, nearly unbalancing Ivana.

"H-hey! Watch it!" She snapped after righting herself. Quick as a flash, Dupont was besides them. Muttering under his breath, he pushed Ivana to a nearby room. Yassen followed silently, motioning for Alex to do the same. The room he walked into reminded him forcefully of a TV clinic. Shrugging, he noticed that Ivana was sitting on the patient bed looking very pale and grumpy. The gash across her collarbone still oozed blood slowly. Dr. Dupont bustled around, collecting supplies. As Alex and Yassen entered the room, he whirled around and spoke heavy Spanish.

"You! What you been up to?! She's lost a lot of blood and has half building sticking out of her!"

Alex flinched at the doctors tone, speaking like that to Yassen seemed one step removed from suicide. Looking at the Russian however, he was surprised. Yassen merely nodded and looked over at Ivana who was frowning bad temperedly.

"Now I know how the stupid animals in the zoos feel." She grumbled.

"Shut up while I work please!" Dr. Dupont exclaimed, picking up a container of anti-septic. Without further ado, he splashed some of the strong smelling liquid onto Ivana's wounds. Even though it was surely burning, Ivana didn't flinch. Even when Dupont picked up the medical thread and needle she didn't react. Rather, she observed interestedly as Dupont sewed up the gash across her collarbone. Alex watched less happily. He'd never liked medical shows and watching Ivana's skin get pulled tight by the thread wasn't doing wonders for his stomach. Yassen also looked less then amused by what he saw, though Alex suspected he was still angry at Ivana for 'forgetting' to mention she was injured.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Alex asked curiously. Ivana didn't even glance up from where Dupont was finishing up.

"No, not at all. Dr. Dupont gave me a local anaesthetic." Her tone was cool and nonchalant **(brief Author Interruption: teehee... I love that word: nonchalant)**. Yassen looked over at Dupont at these words.

"Yes! I did, figured painkillers would do her good!" the doctor nodded slowly. Alex suddenly got the feeling he didn't like Dupont, something about him made his skin crawl. Shaking off his suspicious thoughts, Alex pointed to Ivana.

"What're you going to do about the shrapnel?" he asked. Dupont picked up a pair of tweezers and a plastic container.

"What do you think?" his sarcastic answer set Alex's temper rising. Perhaps noting this, Yassen gestured to him.

"Come Alex, Dupont will be some time with Ivana."

Alex warily followed Yassen out of the clinic. The Russian silently led the way through a labyrinth of hallways and staircases. Eventually, they came to a door locked with a keypad. Alex tried to catch what the code was, but Yassen typed it in too quickly. With a muted click, the door opened revealing a modern living area. Walking in, the lights activated automatically. Yassen sat cross legged on a stool by the countertop. He looked amused by the awkward way Alex remained standing by the door.

"Sit. This is as much your house as it is Ivana's and mine."

'_Who would have thought I'd move out at 16 and share a house with my uncle's killer and a girl who I know nothing about?' _Alex thought at he chose a chair opposite Yassen.

"I'm sure you're desperate for some explanations…" Yassen's tone was light, but Alex could hear the purpose behind it. Alex felt very uncomfortable, only three times had he been alone with the Russian and each time had left a mental scar on him. The first had been after his first mission; Yassen delivered a warning that Alex shouldn't be involved with MI6, much less a killer's world. The second had been in France, when Alex could have killed Yassen easily. However, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger and Yassen had told him that killing wasn't as easy as he thought. He'd also reminded Alex of his earlier warning.

"Alex?" Yassen asked, curious as to why the teen hadn't answered. Looking up, Alex was reminded of the last time he'd seen Yassen. Shot by madman Damien Cray on Air Force One, the Russian had told Alex that he'd known his Father. Before he'd died, he'd told Alex to go to Scorpia, where he'd find his destiny. _Except_, Alex thought, _he didn't die, he's here now_. Blinking to clear his mind, he asked the burning question.

"How are you alive? I saw you get shot and bleed, so don't tell me it wasn't real!" Alex remembered the odd emotions he'd felt when he believed the Russian to be dead. There'd been no satisfaction, only a deep sorrow. He'd believed that he'd felt that because of the man's relation to his Father. Now, he knew he'd been miserable because the one person who seemed to understand him was dead. It had taken quite some time with the MI6 therapist to sort _that_ particular array of emotions out.

Yassen's gaze was almost gentle now.

"No, you're right, it was real. Everything was. I never expected to live when I was shot."

Alex cocked an eyebrow.

"Then shouldn't you be dead?" he asked bluntly.

"I probably should be." Yassen answered sounding almost amused, as if normal things like dieing didn't apply to him

"So why aren't you?" Alex asked.

Yassen thought silently for a moment before answering.

"Right away, I felt there was something wrong with working for Cray. I took the liberty of wearing a light Kevlar vest." After a brief pause, Yassen continued.

"Even with that however, the bullet did enough damage."

Here, Yassen pulled the neck of his shirt low enough for Alex to see the white scar not far below his collarbone. Unconsciously, Alex put his hand to his own chest, covering the spot where the Scorpia Sniper had shot with near fatal results. The two scars were not dissimilar. With a grim face, Yassen nodded in Alex's direction.

"We're more similar then most realize. Certainly, MI6 never guessed, otherwise I suspect they would've tried to kill you or me."

Alex opened his mouth to say he was nothing like the Russian, but then he closed it. It was true, he even agreed that MI6 would've tried to kill him if they'd known how he felt. In the cold world of Alan Blunt, emotions like his were dangerous threats to his scheming. Better to remove the threat all together then to reason with it. Suddenly, Yassen spoke again.

"Doubtlessly, you have other questions. Now's the time to ask."

Alex thought for a second, and then began.

"How did you know I was in Russia?"

Yassen gestured to a laptop on the nearby coffee table.

"A relatively simple program, it alerts me whenever a certain passport turns up in a country of my choosing."

"Okay…" Alex thought again. Odd, before, he'd been full of questions. Now he was having trouble thinking of them.

"Why…What do you need Ivana and me for?"

Yassen shrugged.

"To be honest, I don't _need_ either of you. Ivana found me, and having her around made me think that liberating you from MI6 rule might be a good idea. I suspect it's my first 'good deed' in years now."

Laughing hollowly, Alex shook his head.

"And that's all?"

Looking a little less light-hearted, Yassen gazed at Alex unnervingly.

"Not including the fact that most are killed, the average assassin retires around thirty-three."

Confused, Alex asked,

"I don't get it…what does?"

"I'm thirty-seven Alex." Yassen interrupted.

Surprised, Alex looked away. Yassen Gregorovich didn't appear to have aged since two years ago. He still looked like a man in his twenties. Unsure how to reply, Alex went for the comic approach.

"If it's any consolation, you look younger." He joked weakly. He winced as his laughs aggravated his bruised windpipe.

Yassen frowned as he noted Alex's discomfort.

"How did that happen? It looks painful."

Rubbing his throat ruefully, Alex nodded.

"It _is_ painful. Ivana did it by accident going out the window."

Speaking of the girl brought another question to mind.

"What's with Ivana anyway, why does she hate MI6 and why's she…" he trailed off, gesturing to his hand. Yassen didn't answer immediately, he sat silently for a moment, speculating. Finally, he answered Alex.

"I know I said I'd answer questions, but this is not my story to tell." Alex must have looked a little put off because Yassen suggested lightly,

"if you truly wish to know, ask Ivana yourself."

Standing, the Russian said,

"I'm going to see how Ivana is doing now. I suggest you stay away, Dupont wasn't pleased by having an audience whilst he worked."

Alex answered a little sarcastically.

"I wonder if it was the prospect of an audience or me that annoyed him?"

Taking his comment seriously, Yassen nodded.

"Many of the people I know are wary of stranger, especially…younger strangers such as yourself and Ivana. I suggest you do not do anything to disrespect them. Perhaps they will do the same."

Definitely sarcastic now, Alex couldn't help but sneer.

"Oh yes, me and Dupont, best of friends."

Looking a little annoyed now, Yassen shook his head.

"I cannot force you to do anything against your wishes, but let me offer this warning: although I will not allow any of my contacts to harm you, it would be very unwise to make enemies so soon after arriving." With these parting words, Yassen left the room, leaving Alex deep in thought.


	22. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16, of introductions and handguns**

Later that night, whilst Alex was exploring the manor (it contained a large amount of locked doors that left Alex curious), a woman appeared and begun speaking in Russian to him. Feeling a little inadequate, Alex shook his head and shrugged to signify he didn't speak Russian. The lady smiled and abruptly switched to unaccented English.

"My apologies, I usually speak to Ivana in either Russian or Swahili."

Feeling a little dazed, Alex inquired further.

"Swahili?"

Still smiling, the woman nodded.

"Yes, now if you'll follow me, I'll take you to dinner. My name's Laura by the way. In Russian, I would say: да, Суахили. теперь следуйте за мной на обед. мое название - Лаура между прочим." The language poured out of Laura's mouth smoothly and easily. Blinking amusedly, Alex followed. They came to a large dining room where Yassen and another man already sat.

"Alex, sit down, the food will be served shortly."

Yassen's voice was much lighter then usual and Alex felt less on edge. Deciding to keep his end of the conversation up, Alex remarked,

"Being home seems to bring out the best in you."

The man down from Yassen laughed at this. Startled, Alex glanced at him. For some reason, he hadn't expected the man to know English. Yassen smiled at Alex's surprise and made the appropriate introductions.

"This is Jason Bellini, one of my contacts. He doesn't think I have a best."

Jason inclined his head.

"I'm very informal, just call me Jase please."

From the very first syllable, the man's Italian accent was unmistakable. Before Alex could reply, their food was served and Ivana entered the room wearing jeans and a grey T-shirt. She looked happier then before, Alex suspected having less glass and metal in her arm had something to do with it. Sitting across from Alex, she greeted Jason.

"Hello Jase, you haven't been here in awhile."

Jason nodded and answered.

"I've been busy with lots of things. I'm going to be around for awhile now, Yassen has things planned soon."

Just then, Alex noticed that everyone, including Ivana, had some sort of sidearm.

"I notice you have the same gun as two years ago." Alex said to Yassen. Pulling the weapon in question out, the Russian slid his Grach down the table to Alex. He carefully picked it up and had a look at the gun.

"Why not? It's a good weapon, not too heavy or light." Yassen shrugged.

Alex slid the weapon back and stretched.

"When do I get one?"

Smiling, Jason tossed something to him. Startled, he caught it instinctively. In his hands was a silenced Glock handgun. Turning it over, Alex nodded.

"Thanks."

Jason gestured to Yassen.

"Thank Mr. Gregorovich here, he told me to get it."

Ivana glanced at Alex's weapon thoughtfully while eating. Looking up, she spoke to Yassen.

"Is there anything planned for tomorrow?"

Yassen raised an eyebrow.

"No, did you really expect to be doing anything?"

Ivana shrugged and resumed eating. Distractedly, Alex noticed that Yassen and Ivana ate sparingly whilst he and Jason were more inclined towards larger meals. After awhile, Yassen fell into conversation with Jason, so Alex talked to Ivana.

"Where do I sleep tonight?" He asked curiously.

"Outside in the cold." Ivana answered promptly. A little annoyed by her answer, Alex shook his head.

"Seriously, where?"

Sighing grumpily, Ivana replied,

"Fine, I'll ask Laura to show you."

Alex remembered the petite woman with an unaccented voice.

"Who is Laura anyway? A servant?"

Ivana snorted at that.

"I wouldn't say that to her face. No she's not a servant! She works for Yassen and is a…helper…of mine."

Alex noted the odd emphasis on the word 'helper' and decided Ivana wasn't telling him the entire truth. Searching for another topic, Alex glanced at Ivana's bandaged arms and shoulder.

"Dupont took awhile getting all that shrapnel out. I guess it must have hurt a lot."

Suddenly, Ivana didn't look so amused anymore. She put her fork and knife down and faced Alex. Her gaze bored into him like two blue icicles.

"I'm trained to ignore pain. Anyway, I am not a weakling who winces at a little stinging. A few shrapnel wounds are hardly severe injuries."

With these words, she stood and stalked out of the room. Very confused, Alex glanced over at the other two. Jason was sipping from his glass and avoiding everyone's eye. Yassen had barely reacted to Ivana's abrupt departure, yet Alex got the feeling he wasn't impressed at all. Noticing Alex's incredulous expression, Jason attempted a few words of reassurance.

"Don't take it personally, Ivana's just…"

For a few moments, he struggled. With his English or otherwise, Alex wasn't sure. Eventually, Jason threw a sidelong glance at Yassen; referring the matter to him.

"The girl is as emotional as it is safe to be in this job. Also, she's got a temper to match." Yassen finished for him. "However, Ivana will not be sleeping. Knowing her, she'll be in the gym."

Severely tempted to go ask Ivana what her deal was, Alex started when Jason spoke.

"I would _not_ annoy her tonight. The first time I did, Ivana threatened to stick a bullet where it'd hurt."

Flinching, but very amused, Alex asked,

"And did she?"

Smiling faintly, Jason yawned.

"Actually, I must say goodnight. I have things to do."

The man rose and disappeared out a side door.


	23. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17, Ivana**

Once again, Alex was left alone with Yassen. However, the man stood quickly.

"I also have things to do, I'm sure you can occupy yourself." The Russian gestured to another door.

"Follow the hallway, there's plenty of rooms to sleep in."

Shrugging in response, Alex headed out into the manor. It didn't take him long to realize he was lost. Seriously annoyed, he climbed a likely looking staircase. The hallway at the top led to only one room that has a large glass window by its door. Curiously, Alex looked through the glass. With a jolt, he realized that inside was the very gym that he'd been warned to avoid. In the room, Ivana was spurring, the punch bag swinging wildly. Her savage blows matched the look of rage on her face. As quietly as possible, Alex entered the gym watching her. He noted that her balance and form was amazing, she looked very skilled. Ivana then started on the bag with her blades, working herself to the point where she collapsed into a crouch, panting heavily. Alex stretched out for the doorknob, figuring now would be a good time to leave. However, somehow he managed to knock over a display of free weights. Ivana's head whipped around, teeth bared and gleaming slightly in the half light. Standing furiously, Ivana stepped forward shakily with her blades still extended.

_Shit! Don't they say female criminals are the most vicious?' _Alex's thoughts raced as he struggled to think of something to say.

"What are you doing up here?" Ivana's voice was icy, more frightening (if possible) then the display of rage he'd witnessed moments before. Backing up to the door, Alex swallowed.

"I…got lost and..."

He didn't get time to complete his answer. Ivana swung at him, blades glinting. With a startled yelp, he ducked and scrambled out of the way. Ivana whirled around, ripping her blades out from the door where they'd gotten embedded due to the force of her blow. Again, she slashed at him. This time, Alex felt pain as she scored a set of parallel cat-scratches across his face. Incredulously, he put his hand up to his face. Whilst the grazes were undoubtedly deep, they didn't bleed excessively. Ducking as Ivana swung; Alex grabbed an unused weights bar. Using it as a weapon, Alex went on the offensive, attacking strongly. Even with this though, Ivana was too fast. Gathering up his dwindling strength, Alex swung out for one last time. Before he even came near though, Alex heard a pained cry. Dropping the bar, he realized that Ivana was leaning against the wall weakly, her chest red. Blood dripped from her fingers where she'd touched the wound.

"B-burst a couple…of stitches." She panted. Aggression forgotten, Alex hurried over just as she slid down the wall into a sitting position. Slowly regaining her breath and composure, she pulled a bandage out of her pocket. Cautiously, Alex sat down next to her. Glancing at him, Ivana moved her left hand closer for Alex to examine. Each knuckle on her hand except for the thumb was marked by what was similar to a puncture wound. Alex could see that each blade protruded from this 'hole'. He put her hand down again and ran both of his through his hair. One of them ran over his face, smearing the blood from the cuts further.

"Sorry about that, most people don't lose their tempers so badly…" Ivana muttered awkwardly.

"Well, _most_ people don't have three inch blades sticking out of their knuckles." Alex noted carefully. With a sharp _snick _the blades were gone; visible only as raised ridges along her hands.

"I suppose Yassen explained…" Ivana sighed, looking at him. A little uncomfortably, Alex shook his head.

"No… Yassen said it wasn't his question to answer. He said I should ask you myself."

Ivana snorted.

"Typical…make the kiddies bond through Ivana's sob story."

Looking up, she faced Alex directly.

"I will tell you my history on one condition."

Trying not to jump ahead blindly, Alex let out a noncommittal grunt.

Ivana's face was told Alex she was serious about this.

"No matter what, you can't change how you feel about me. If you hate me now, keep on hating me after if tell you all this."

Doing his best to meet Ivana's gaze, Alex nodded.

"Alright, I promise. Tell me, what happened to you?"

Ivana's gaze fixed on something Alex couldn't see, memories perhaps.

"When I was thirteen, I moved to England. I was an orphan, so I joined up with a street gang. At fourteen, I was dared to break into a bank. I got caught going up the stairs from the lobby. For some odd reason, the President of the bank decided not to press charges."

An odd swooping sensation shook Alex.

"Bank…not…?" he whispered.

Grim faced, Ivana nodded.

"Yeah, the Royal and General. MI6."

Alex stared at her in shock.

"But…I…I never even suspected…" he stammered. Ivana snorted sarcastically.

"For some odd reason, they always thought we'd give each other 'ideas' if we were aware of one another."

A spilt-second's amusement flickered through Alex.

"Go on…?"

"Well, after awhile, I got called in for a 'special' appointment with Blunt and Jones."

Ivana took a breath and continued.

"Once I was there, they described Operation Deadpoint. They picked me because I was the best at stealth and definitely the fastest…or so they said."

Alex stretched uneasily. Ivana went on after a pause.

"Operation Deadpoint should have been easy, sabotage some machinery and steal some data. Then waltz home to be rewarded."

Alex noted that Ivana's voice shook slightly.

"It should've been easy, only they forgot to mention one thing…"

For a moment, she visibly struggled. Then she spoke in a dead, emotionless voice.

"It was a suicide mission."

Alex stared at Ivana and swallowed hard. He tried to imagine it; somehow, knowing Blunt, it wasn't hard. Nodding as if she knew what was going through his head, Ivana continued.

"As soon as I sabotaged the machinery, a silent alarm went off. Security arrived in seconds. During the gunfight, some bullets hit a reactor and set off an explosion."

Alex shook his head, horrified.

"Reactor…Nuclear?"

Ivana answered in a hoarse voice that barely hid her distress.

"No, not nuclear. I don't know what it was. I _do_ know I was still in the building when it exploded though."

Alex's paled face seemed to encourage Ivana.

"I was on the roof at the time; the explosion caused it to cave in with me on top. A top storey catwalk broke my floor, but I was pretty much dead anyway."

Breathing out, Alex asked,

"What saved you?"

With empty eyes and a hollow voice, Ivana answered in a whisper.

"I don't know… I think I was in a coma but I remember waking a few times and I was in a clinic or a lab. I was delusional, but I _know_ I saw some guy from MI6 headquarters there…"

Gulping, Ivana stared at her hands again.

"All I know is when I finally woke up properly; I was laying in the mud sorely injured. It had been a week, and I had…"

She clenched her fists and bit her lip hard enough for it to bleed before finishing.

"I had…the blades you see now."

Quietly, she went on still.

"Barely alive, I was stupid enough to believe that there'd been some mistake and all of it was a terrible accident. Slowly, I made my way back to London…To the Royal and General."

Mesmerised, Alex asked her,

"What happened there?"

Ivana smiled humourlessly as she answered.

"I snuck in feeling like something was wrong…they say your instincts are never wrong, so I listened to mine and hid by Jones' door without going in. in the office, she and a few others were being briefed by Blunt. Listening, I realized I'd been fooled, they all knew it was a suicide mission."

Glancing at Alex's horror-struck face, Ivana suddenly lost control. She began to yell.

"They _all_ knew Alex! All except me!"

Trying desperately to console her, Alex murmured,

"How could you have known…?"

Ivana cut across him, voice savage

"I _should_ have known! There were so many signs that something was up. They all treated me differently, kinder. Even that asshole Fox or coyote or…"

"Wolf?" Alex asked quietly.

"Yeah…even _he_ treated me half ways decent and he always _hated_ me!"

Suddenly growing quiet, Ivana looked up from her feet and turned to face Alex. Her eyes blazed with an icy blue fire that made the hairs on the back of Alex's neck stand up.

"After that, I knew _exactly_ what I had to do. I went to the MI6 vault and stole any files I could get my hands on."

Alex didn't say anything, knowing there was more to come.

"Skimming the files quickly, I realized there was someone like me. Someone supposedly dead; I knew an opportunity for revenge when I saw it." Ivana said.

"You're talking about Yassen aren't you?" Alex asked. Ivana nodded and answered.

"Yes. On the way out, I ran into a guard. He was so shocked to see me alive, he didn't even attack. It was easy to take his gun and kill him. After, I ran, heading to Russia."

Alex's head spun. He'd always known that Alan Blunt cared little for the welfare of his agents, but he'd never realized just how cold the man was. Ivana interrupted Alex's thoughts.

"It took a long time, but eventually I found Yassen and talked to him."

Alex felt a spurt of curiosity.

"You just went up to a proven killer and demanded he take you in?" he asked incredulously.

"Not exactly… I put my skills to use and broke in. I confronted him and sort of payed with the files I got from MI6." Ivana breathed out, she looked much less stressed then before.

"So that pretty much brings me up to date?" Alex asked.

"Yup, that's my life in a nutshell." Ivana answered displaying a hidden sense of humour. Alex shook his head and wondered if things could get any weirder.


	24. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18, Similarities**

Giving a yawn, Ivana looked at the clock on the wall across from them.

"As much as I am enjoying this heart to heart, I actually _do_ have to sleep now." She said. Both of them stood, wincing at their stiff bodies. Alex in particular grimaced when he felt the bruises and cuts resulting from the earlier fight.

"I think we'll both be feeling tonight first thing tomorrow morning." He said, running his fingers over his already scabbed cheek. Glancing at the four parallel lines running across the right side of Alex's face, Ivana grimaced.

"Sorry about that by the way."

Alex shrugged and followed Ivana down the hallway.

"It's fine, they've stopped bleeding now. What about you, a couple of your stitches broke didn't they?"

Idly fingering the gash in question, Ivana shook her head.

"I'm fine; I'll see Dupont in the morning. I bandaged the area, so I should be fine. Or at least, I think so. Yassen and Dupont are the ones with all the medical knowledge." She said with a slight smile. Stopping in front of a door, Ivana pointed down the hallway.

"My room's here. There should be a room for you further down there, you can't get lost in this part of the house." She said. Alex looked at her askance. "What makes you so sure of that, I might be pretty bad with directions?"

Ivana gestured around them. "This is a memorable part of the manor." She was right; the hallway was just off a massive 2nd storey landing with two equally huge staircases leading down on either side. The roof above their heads was glass, the night sky visible through it.

"All the glass in the house is bullet-proof." Ivana shrugged. Alex blinked a little. That was a lot of glass. Stretching, Ivana turned to her bedroom door. Alex caught a glance of a clean and modern room.

"I'll see you tomorrow; I will most likely be awake before you." She started to yawn, but stopped halfway. Just as she turned, Alex spoke.

"You don't sleep much do you?"

Ivana slowly faced him again.

"No I don't, why does that interest you?" she asked curiously.

"Neither does Yassen." Alex said bluntly. Something was on his mind, Ivana could tell that much. Amused, she asked,

"Do you normally notice people's oddities like that? Or am I just an exception?"

Alex shook his head.

"No, I just think that Yassen has a strong influence on people. It's funny…" he trailed off suddenly looking a little thoughtful. Ivana felt a bit awkward with his interest being on her, so she prodded him.

"What's funny?" she asked curiously. Alex looked up at her.

"You even look a little about him." He finished, biting his lip. Suddenly feeling nervous, Ivana thumped him jokingly to distract him from his musings.

"I didn't insult your face when you got scratched. No need to tease me."

Alex started to protest, but then he laughed. "Fine, but I must deliver a warning, you don't know me. I could be ready to snap at any jest."

Ivana's grin suddenly dropped and her eyes were distant.

"When I stole all those files, yours were amongst them. You had the chance to kill Yassen once, didn't you?"

Alex nodded slowly, as long as he lived, he'd never forget the night on the yacht staring at Yassen with a gun in his hand.

"Yes I did, in Marseilles. I couldn't pull the trigger though. I think he knew I couldn't, Yassen barely even reacted to finding me there with a gun pointed at his head. I really do wonder what goes through his mind sometimes."

Looking at him, Ivana said something very true.

"No one really understands that man except himself. It's best to leave it at that and not ask questions sometimes."

Alex shrugged.

"Maybe you're right. Tell me, what else did my file say?"

Ivana looked awkward suddenly, not meeting Alex's eye.

"Tell me, I'm not going to bite." Alex laughed. Ivana gave him a crooked smile.

"Yeah…well, I read that for about 6 months after your last mission, you underwent therapy with the MI6 psychologist. I would have hated that; I can't stand people trying to tell me what I'm thinking." She shook her head pityingly. Alex sighed and remembered the sessions with the psychologist, Ms. Po. Jack had insisted on the therapy.

"It wasn't that bad. I did it more to appease Jack then to better my 'mental health'. I don't think Blunt or Jones ever knew what I was saying either."

Ivana nodded encouragingly.

"I don't think so either; there was no mention of what actually went on during therapy. It only said they'd appointed you a psychologist."

She turned back to her bedroom door.

"Goodnight Alex." She quietly closed the door behind her. Alex stared at the spot for a moment before answering.

"Goodnight Ivana." He whispered, and then he walked down the hall into a bedroom. Alex was asleep seconds after laying on the bed.


	25. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19, Observation**

Jason was in his office with the fire going. The light from it flickered unevenly across his face, throwing half of it into deep shadow. He sat at his desk watching his computer screen. The earlier car chase played across the monitor. Right index finger tapping a rhythm on the desk, Jason made his observations, face inscrutable.


	26. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20, Russian Recall**

Alex's eyes flew open. It was six in the morning and the sun was barely rising. Stretching, he sat up and looked around him. A modern but rather plain room greeted him and for a split second, Alex missed his Chelsea room. The nostalgia was short lived; his eagerness to begin the day soon took over. Yawning, Alex headed into the ensuite attached to the bedroom. As he showered, he decided the scratches and bruises from the night before mightn't be too bad, he wasn't in a lot of pain. Feeling very refreshed, Alex made his way out to the landing to go downstairs. At the foot of the left hand staircase, Laura waited with a slight smile on her face. Her auburn hair glinted in the early sun as she gestured to Alex.

"Ivana sent me to come get you; she said you have a terrible sense of direction."

Alex chuckled and pursued a different topic as they walked through the manor.

"Where are you from? You don't have any sort of strong accent."

Laura's smile widened a little.

"That's because I've lived in a lot of countries over the years, I've had to learn how to fit in. I was born in Australia though, Sydney specifically."

Alex half nodded to himself, the tiniest trace of an Australian accent still clung to Laura's voice. As he reflected on that, the pair reached a large door, Laura opened it.

"Enjoy your breakfast, try not to annoy Ivana. She is _not_ a morning person. I may see you later; I have work to do now."

Walking into the dining room, Alex saw the table was occupied by Yassen, Ivana and Jason. All three of them, assassins. Stepping forward, Alex thought to himself,

'_No… not three, four. I'm the fourth assassin, guilty by association.' _

Yassen glanced up as Alex entered the room, but resumed his conversation with Ivana. Jason greeted his warmly however.

"Ah, Alex! You just made me a hundred US dollars! Ivana bet that you wouldn't be up before 8, at the earliest."

Alex glanced at Ivana, who merely shrugged, a little awkwardly in his opinion.

"Well, I'm up now…"

Once he sat across from Jason, Yassen spoke suddenly.

"You may not have been aware of it, but Jason will be the one training you."

Confused, Alex helped himself to some fruit before answering.

"Why? What sort of training do I need?"

Jason thought for a moment, then said,

"Yassen tells me you've undergone both MI6 and Scorpia basic training. I intend to test those skills and work on them."

Yassen nodded.

"It's not so much you learning new skills, I know you're proficient in all the skills you need. All of us, me included, keep ourselves fit through constant training. It's a basic necessity; being constantly combat ready may well save your life." He said calmly.

Alex shrugged.

"Okay, suits me fine. I've been doing nothing for two years; this'll be a welcome change."

Smiling, Jason turned to Ivana.

"Speaking of training, I heard a lot of noise up in the gym last night?"

Yassen glanced at Alex as he reflexively put his hand up to the cut across his cheek.

"It's nothing." He muttered awkwardly.

"Alright, I won't ask then." Jason said with a slight frown on his face. Yassen turned to Ivana.

"You and Alex fought? Both of you are bruised…"

Ivana answered simply.

"Yes, we fought briefly. It was a quickly resolved matter though, to both our satisfactions."

Yassen raised a brow at that.

"I'd appreciate a more helpful answer then that. Am I right in guessing that you finally answered all of Alex's questions on why you've treated him so badly?"

Ivana merely shrugged, so Yassen turned Alex.

"Tell me Alex. Will I get a slightly more useful answer from you, or will I have to appear for now as a control freak?"

He blinked unsure at the Russian man; Alex didn't know what the safer answer was. He glanced to Ivana who tried to discreetly signal to Alex to stay silent, but as soon as she raised her arm, a tiny hiss of pain worked its way out from between her teeth. Yassen and Jason noticed immediately.

"A couple of your stitches broke?"

Ivana nodded grumpily, annoyed at being caught. Jason noted that with a laugh.

"Oh come on, that wasn't exactly very subtle. You're above that, so why sulk? I need to stop by Dupont's office anyway, you can come with me." He stood, brushing non-existent crumbs from his lap. Ivana stood as well, smiling regretfully to Alex. Oddly, he felt a brief moment of attraction. Then, he silently berated himself. He was just enjoying the company of someone his own age. At least, that's what he told himself. Yassen glanced at the door that the other two had left through, and Alex's mind turned to something Ivana had said last night.

"No one truly understands the man except himself…"

"Ivana said that about me?" Yassen asked, looking amused. Alex jumped; he hadn't realized he'd been speaking aloud. Yassen noted his startled reaction.

"That's what I mean by training, being able to control or mask your emotions is important. It is not something you were ever good at though."

Alex blinked and tried to settle down.

"You've always been able to…'read' me then?" he asked, not sure wether he truly wanted an answer. Yassen gave an appraising look.

"Yes. For instance, on my yacht, I was able to make more sense of your emotions then _you_ were probably."

Alex shuddered, that whole evening had been a terrible experience, one that still haunted him. Yassen obviously knew that, in any case, he didn't push the issue.

"So Ivana said that about me?" He asked again, still amused. Alex nodded slowly.

"Yes… Ivana said that."

Shrugging, Yassen pushed the food around his plate with his fork.

"It took a lot to convince me to take in a child…"

Alex tried to interrupt, but Yassen held a finger up.

"Hold on little Alex, let me rephrase that. Child, perhaps, is not the correct term, but you know what I mean. Sixteen is hardly an adult, especially in this world. You can't deny that, you know what I say to be true better then most would."

Alex gave a reluctant nod. Yassen continued with what he was saying before.

"It took a lot to convince me to take Ivana in, but the fact that she's very smart and an excellent reader of people definitely helped her case."

Alex smiled at that and decided to ask a few questions.

"So, you believe what she said was true?"

Yassen nodded and answered.

"Yes, you can't be in this job and survive for long if people can second guess you."

"So that's why you nearly died two years ago, because Cray could predict you?" Alex asked this last question quickly, unsure wether pushing this far was a smart idea. Yassen was silent for awhile, then, he placed his fork down and looked him in the eye.

"Perhaps… You seem to be enjoying asking personal questions. Most would consider it an unattractive aspect of a personality."

Determined not to be intimidated, Alex shook his head.

"No, I just like to know what sort of person I'm working for."

Looking faintly surprised, Yassen replied rapidly.

"Work for? No Alex, you don't work _for_ me. You and Ivana both work _with_ me. There is a difference."

Raising an eyebrow, Alex asked,

"Then doesn't that entitle me to answers all the more?"

Yassen gave a short chuckle at that.

"I don't give you enough credit. You and Ivana are both quite smart, although, I must say, Ivana generally doesn't have the patience for intellectual sparring like this."

Alex gave a crooked smile and settled down as Yassen considered.

"Most of my history is unimportant and even if it was otherwise, I'd be inclined to share little of it with you."

Alex grunted reluctantly.

"Fine, I'd still like to know more about the person I'm working _with_."

Yassen nodded in agreement and begun after a brief pause.

"As you know, I am originally from Russia, although by no means does that mean I spend most of my time here. I was born into a wealthy family, most of which was rather shocked by my choice of career."

Alex listened closely, but couldn't detect any distinguishing emotions in Yassen's voice. It was obvious that his history was no more then memories to him, he didn't have any particular feelings about what he was saying.

"I don't believe in coincidence, so it didn't altogether surprise me that my family was killed in an accident at the same time I began to take jobs from the Mafia. A rival gang was responsible and they sent a hit man after me as well. However, like you, I was trained and knew how to defend myself."

Alex took it all in silently, not quite able to picture it fully.

"The man who came didn't expect me to be a threat so it was an easy enough matter to kill him. A week later, a woman came to the house. She said she represented an organization called Scorpia that recruited those who'd…displayed… sufficient talent. Apparently they wanted to offer me a job."

Alex's mind raced.

"So you...?"

Yassen nodded humourlessly.

"At age 17, I was trained by Scorpia. When I was 23, I 'negotiated' my departure the organization using some hostages. Truth be told, once your Father was killed, I didn't want to stay. After that, I went solo. Jobs are easy to get if you've got the right 'credentials' as it were."

He finished, shrugging nonchalantly. Shaking his head incredulously, Alex gestured to the house around them.

"A result of your business then? Ivana mentioned you were incapable of getting yourself anything but the biggest and the best."

With an amused expression, Yassen nodded.

"Yes, I know how to use my money. I enjoy living in comfort in-between jobs."

Alex made a wry face.

"Yeah I bet you do." He muttered, "A cultured assassin, figures…"

Suddenly, another thought occurred to him.

"Scorpia must really hate you; I bet they have a big, fat bullet with your name on it."

Smiling faintly, Yassen stood and he did likewise.

"Many people hate me Alex, what difference does a few more make? They say the more the merrier, and personally, most of my adversaries are half trained fools who let their emotions stop them from posing any threat to me."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"So you're saying anyone who has emotions is a half trained fool? I was under the impression Ivana and I were rather intelligent, otherwise you'd never have put up with us."

Yassen shook his head, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I never said that at all. Believe it or not Alex, _I_ even have emotions. What I actually said was that these people let their foolish desires for things like revenge overrun their sense of reason. You must remember, when you're an assassin, things like revenge should never become your life's purpose. It truly does destroy a person, makes you incapable of sound judgement. I think you'd know something about that, look what happened with Scorpia. As much as I despise the woman, it's much better you never let your thirst for revenge get to the point where you could really kill Mrs. Jones. MI6 would have never let you leave the building alive if you're actually shot the Deputy Head."

Alex nodded reluctantly, what Yassen said was true and made perfect sense. Then, he swallowed gingerly, throat giving a quick twinge of pain. Yassen frowned at Alex's expression.

"You should see Dupont about that. The scratches on your face could use attention as well; infection is just as dangerous as a bullet you know."

Alex grimaced and ran a finger along the scratch on his cheek. He could only imagine what he looked like.

"I suppose so, you're probably right." He muttered. There was no reply, when Alex looked up, he realized Yassen had disappeared. Shrugging, he left the room and headed down a vaguely familiar staircase. Reaching the bottom of it, Alex nearly cheered. After constantly getting lost in the manor, he'd managed to find the right way to Dupont's office. Walking slowly towards the clinic, Alex guessed the Spaniard wouldn't be happy to see him. His knuckles brushed briefly against his Glock, the cold metal cheering him a little.

'_Let him try to annoy me_,' Alex thought to himself, '_Let him try…_'


	27. OOOHH! BIG NEWS!

**OOOOOHHHH!!! BIG NEWS!!!**

Ok, this is really cool! Whilst writing the other day, I finally came up with an end for this story!!!! It is sooo awesome, if I may say so myself!!!! It also makes room for a sequel! Not even my friend who's editing my story knows what I have planned. Don't worry, there's still ages to the end, but I like to be ready 

If you want, you can make predictions as to what's coming up in the fic and I'll put your predictions in their own chappie. So let me hear all your ideas, logical or crazy!!

Anywho, ttfn from your exuberant and appreciative vampire author:

Vampassassin

Xoxoxoxoxo

p.s: TY SO MUCH FOR ALL THE REVIEWS PEOPLE, U ALL ROCK SO HARD!!!!!!!!!


	28. Chapter 21

**Chapter 22, Mole**

Jason was uneasy. His mission had been fairly easy until now. Alex Rider complicated things greatly, perhaps even fatally. Sighing, he sat down at his desk and picked up his mobile phone. He dialled an eight digit number and waited. After a few seconds, someone picked up.

"Code please?" a tired voice said.

"Alto 3, Juliet Alto Bravo 9-7-6." He answered, trying not to chew his bottom lip, a nervous habit of his. The person on the other end grunted sourly.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want Jason?"

Jason paused for a moment, if he didn't measure his words carefully here, things could turn very ugly. Then he shook himself, this was important and he wasn't going to allow protocol to get in his way.

"Put me onto our blunt friend."

For a few moments, there was a hostile silence on the other end. Then, he was answered.

"I can't, he's…out… besides, I shouldn't anyway for breaking protocol like that; we use codenames for a reason."

Quickly running out of patience, Jason said,

"Are you quite sure?! I have important info and-"

"No, he's definitely out. He will be back later; I'll deliver your message."

Jason breathed out angrily and hung up, he hated delays.

"Are you busy Jason?"

The new voice startled Jason; he nearly reached for his gun. Yassen stood at the door; it was him who had spoken.

"Who was that you were speaking to?" The Russian's tone wasn't particularly demanding or interested, but Jason felt his nerves stretch a little more. He had no clue how long Yassen had been standing there, if he'd overheard the entire call, he may as well dig his grave now. Yassen may have been simply curious, _or_, Jason thought, _he already knows and when I lie, he'll kill me_. The Italian had no doubt that the Russian would kill him. Yassen looked and moved like a dancer, but the veiled threat in his blue eyes was all too real. Swallowing awkwardly, Jason decided on a half truth.

"Oh, that was a contact of mine; he's proving hard to reach…"

Yassen's gaze seemed to bore holes in him for a moment, but then, the Russian man shrugged.

"Alright, you'll just have to keep trying. I came to give you this." Yassen produced a disc and put it on the desk.

"It's got all the information for Operation Descent on it."

Jason managed to look Yassen in the eye.

"Have you told Ivana and Alex about Descent?"

Yassen shook his head.

"No, I wont until they're both ready. Alex still needs time to adjust to a new situation."

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"What about Ivana, isn't she ready yet?"

Yassen's face gave nothing away, but Jason got the feeling this wasn't a question he was entitled to ask.

"No she's not. Physically perhaps, but mentally I think she's unready. Ivana is too susceptible to mind games and the such. I'm working with her; you do your job with Alex."

Nodding, Jason looked down at the disc.

"I'll take a look at the files." He said. Yassen nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Exhaling heavily, Jason stood and walked to the mirror in his office and stared at his reflection. He was young, only 23, and good looking with short brown hair that matched his eyes. Jason was fast, strong and his youth granted him good health. The future should've been bright for him. Touching his fingers to the reflection, Jason wasn't so sure. Moments like that left him feeling aged and weary beyond logical reason. Walking back to his desk, Jason wondered why he'd allowed MI6 to control him for so long.


End file.
